Adjustable gunner&#39;s seat



Dec.7,1937. J. G. LEE 2,101,145

ADJUSTABLE GUNNERS SEAT Filed Nov. 10, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet l hb/IHZZLEEm i w 4 TTOHNEV Dec. 7, 1937. J 3 LEE ADJUSTABLE GUNNERS SEAT 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 10

INVENTOI? $1212 [7. Z BE ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 7 193? ADJUSTABLEGUNNERS SEAT John G.

Lee, Avon, Coma, assignor, by mes ma assignments, to United Aircraft fio'l ration, a corporation of Delaware.

Application November 10, 1933, Serial No. 697,423

19 Claims.

This invention relates to gun mounts and more particularly to anadjustable machine gun mount .for aircraft.

In military airplanes having a rear gunners cockpit, it has beencustomary to so mo'unt the machine gun operated by the rear gunnerthathe has been exposed to the wind stream passing the airplane, when aimingand operating the gun. In some forms of gun mounts hewas exposed to thiswind stream in practically all positions of the gun, while in others hewas exposed when the gun was aimed transversely of the airplane.

An object of this invention is to provide a gun mount in which the gunmay be sighted throughout a wide range of angles without exposing thegunner to the wind stream. Another object of this invention is ,tocombine a gun mount with a gunners seat so that the gun may be readilyaimed over a wide range.

Another object of this invention is to provide a gun mount that may bereadily moved to and from any desired position in the gunners cockpit.

Further and other objects and advantages will be apparent from thespecification and claims and from the accompanyingdrawings whichillustrate what is now considered the preferred embodiment.

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an airplane showing one position of thegun in relation to the gunners cockpit.

Fig. 2 is a detailed sectional view taken on'line 2-2 of Fig. 3, showingthe guide for the gun supporting post. i

Fig. 3 is a side view thereof.

Fig. 4 is an end view of the guide.

Fig. 5 is an end view looking at the front of the gunners seat.

Fig. 6 is a detailed side view of the swivel lock-' ing mechanism.

Fig. '7 is a side view of the gunners seat.- Fig. 8 is a detail of thegun counter-balancing mechanism.

The drawings illustrate my invention as embodied in an airplane havingafuselage l0, planes I2 and I4, landing gear l6; power plant l8, andcockpit cover 28.

In the particular embodiment shown, this cockpit cover forms a closurefor the pilots cockpit and in combination with pivotally mounted slides,not shown, forms a closure for the gunners cockpit. These slides may,however, be swung on their pivots to uncover the rear portion of thegunners cockpit, thus leaving that portion open as shown in Fi 1.

There is provided for use by the gunner, a. machine gun 22 mounted on anarm 24 detachably secured to the upper portion of post 26, pivotallymounted on a gunners seat 28; The gunners seat is pivotally mounted in aU-shaped support 38 which, in turn, is swiveled into a member 32 rigidlysupported from the airplane structural members 33. b

The member 32 is formed with an enlarged head 34 whichis provided with aseries of holes adapted to receive a positioning and locking pin 36. Thelocking pin 36 is slidably mounted in a pair of brackets 38 rigidlyattached to the U-shaped member 30. When the pin 36 is in one of the 1holes in the enlarged head 34, the U-shaped member 80 is held in a fixed-position relative to the airplane and its structural members 33.- Whenthe pin 36 is withdrawn from the holes in member 34. the U-shaped member30 is free to swivel about the axis of the member 32.

Pin 36 is urged towards the member 34 by a spring 40 and may bewithdrawn against the action of that spring by pressing on the'knob 42of the rod 44 which is suitably connected, by means or a bell crank anda link, to the pin 36.

The knob 42 is provided with a sleeve 44 having abayonet slot 46co-acting with a pin 48 whereby the knob 42 may be retained in itsdepressed position and the pin 36 maintained but of contact with themember 34 so that the U-shaped member 30 may be freely swiveled.

The "seat 28 is pivotally suspended from the upper portion of the armsof the U-shaped member 30 by means of the pivots 50 so that the seat mayswing with a front and back motion between the arms of the U-shapedmember. An arcuate bar, 52 is rigidly secured to the central lowerportion or the U-shaped member 30 in such a manner that the center ofits arc falls on a line connecting the two pivots 50. Plates 54 aresecured to a central frame member of the seat 28 and are positioned onthe two sides of the arcuate member 52. Rolls 56 are mounted in theseplates and bear on the arcuate member 52 to assist in guiding the seq-tinits swinging movements.

series of holes, provided in the upper surface of the member 82, mayreceive a pin, mounted between the plates "and actuated by a .cam roller58. This cam roller is actuated by a cam 60 secured to a lever 62. Thislever is spring pressed in one direction by a spring 64 and may beactuated in the other direction by a lever 66 and a cable 68. Pushingdown on the lever 86 will pull the cable 88 and cause the cam 50 to liftthe roller 58 and thus remove the attached pin from a hole in the member52. When the pin is thus removed the seat may be turned about its pivot50 and The ends of an arcuate guide 16 are secured to the frame work ofthe seat 28 adjacent the pivots 58 and the arcuate member 16 is soplaced that the line 13-43 passes through the center of its arc and atright angles to the plane thereof. A built-up member 18 rigidly securedto post 26 surrounds member 16 and serves to guide the upper end of thepost 26 as it'turns on pivot 12. A roll 88 is journaled in the member 18and rolls on the top of member 16. Rolls 82 roll on the front of member16 and a spring-pressed roll 84 rolls on the bottom thereof. The innerportion of member 16 is provided with a series of holes adapted toreceive a pin 86. This pin vis spring-pressed in one direction by aspring 88 and may be retracted against the tension thereof by means of ahandle 98 connected to the pin 86 by.a pin and slot connection. When thepin 86 is removed from the holes in the member 16, the post 26 may beswung from side to side about its pivot 12. By allowingthe pin 86 toenter a selected hole in the member 16, the post 26 may be locked in anydesired position.

When the machine gun is mounted on the arm 24 and the post 26 is swungto one of its extreme side positions, the gunner must lift the weight ofthe gun together with guiding means attached to the post against theattraction of gravity in order to bring the gun into its more elevatedcentral position. The effort required to move the gunv obviously becomesgreater as the axis 13-13 becomes nearer horizontal, which occurs whenthe seat is tipped backward about its pivots 58.- Also, when the seat istipped back, as it is'when firing at an object above the airplane,'somedifliculty is experienced in again and quickly bringing the seat toan-upright position. In my invention,

- 7 means have been provided for overcoming these ditliculties so thatthe gun may be readily moved from side to side and the seat readilybrought forward from a reclined position.

In the embodiment shown, this means takes the form of a shock absorbercord 92, one end of which is fastened to the U-shaped member 68 at 94and the other end of which is fastened to the seat 26 at 96. The cord isled over guide pulleys 91, 91, between guide pulleys 98 and over apulley I88. Pulley I88 is attached to an arm I82 pivotally secured atI84 to the arm 26 so that upon movement of the post 26vabout the pivot12, lateral movement is imparted'to the arm I02. As will be obvious fromthe drawings, this lateral movement increases the length of the shockabsorber cord 92 and thus creates a force tending to bring the post 26back to its central position. As the seat 28 is reclined, the end of theshock absorber cord 92 and the pulley I88 is moved away from the pulley.91 and the shock absorber cord consequently stretched, thus, creating aforce tending to bring the seat back to its upright position. It will benoted that as the tension in the shock absorber cord is increased as theseat is reclined, the force exerted by this when the pin is in place inone of the holes in.

26 and its attached gun back to its elevated central position iscorrespondingly greater. It will,

therefore, be seen that I have provided means for counterbalancing theweight of the gun, which means is adapted to exert an increasinglygreater force as the effective weight of the gun, resisting movementabout the pivot 12, becomes greater, and that I have also provided meansto assist in bringing the seat to an upright position, which means areeffective in all positions of the gun.

The arm 24 and the post 26 are so proportioned that the sights on thegun 22 will be in line with the gunners eye, when the gunner iscomfortably seated and the gun is in a horizontal position, as shown inFig. 1.

The gun may then be moved to the limit of its transverse movement alongthe guide 16, and the gunner may keep the sights in line with his eyesby simply turning his head. The gun may be directed'upward by simplyreclining the seat during which movement the sights may be kept in linewith the gunners eye without any movement of the gunners head. It willthus be seen that I have provided means whereby a gun may be sighted andoperated over a wide angle without requiring lateral movement of thegunners head.

In operating this device, the gunnertakes his place in the seat 28,usually sitting on his parachute with his legs on either side of thepost 26 and facing to the rear of the airplane. One hand is placed onthe post 26 with the fingers grasping the lever 98 and the lower side ofthe hand resting on the lever 66. It will be observed that a lever 66 isprovided on each side of post 26 so that either hand may be used. Theother hand is placed upon the gun 22. If it is desired to move the gunfrom side to side, the lever 98 may be drawn towards the post 26, thusunlocking the post from the guide 16. The gunner may then readily movethe post. with its attached gun, laterally. If it is desired to elevatethe gun to fire at an object over head, the hand grasping tthe post 26is tipped or moved downward,

and within the shelter of the cockpit cover 28.

If it is desired to fire in a direction forward of that permitted by theextreme lateral movement of the gun on its guide 16, the knob 42 may bedepressed, thus unlocking the U-shaped member 38 so that it may beswiveled in the member 32, thus turning the gun about a substantiallyvertical axis. This movement will, of course, tend to bring the gunnershead out into the wind stream beyond the protection of the cockpit cover28 and the degree of movement which may be accomplished throughswiveling of the seat support without exposure of the gunner to the windstream will, of course, be dependent almost entirely upon the size ofthe gunners cockpit.

At times, when it is not desired to use the gun, it may be detached fromthe post 26 at the detachable connection between the arm 24 and the post26 and stowed in any convenient position in or adjacent the gunnerscockpit.

It 'will, of course, be observed that the means herein described areadaptable to a variety of other uses. They may, for instance, be used tosupport motion picture cameras or other devices which it may be desiredto train upon moving objects. It is, therefore, to be understood thatthe invention is not limited to the specific embodiment hereindescribed, but may be used in other ways, and various changes may bemade therein without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention, as defined by the followl0 ing claims.

What I claim is: 1. A combined gun support and gunner's seat, comprisinga swivel support, a seat, means to pivotally suspend said seat from saidsupport, a gun standard, means to pivotally'mount said standard on saidseat, and means carried by said seat for limiting the movements of saidgun standard to a predetermined path with respect to the seat. 2. Incombination, a swivel support, a seat piv '20 otally suspended from saidsupport, a pivotally mounted gun carried by said seat and means to guidethe gun in its movements about the pivotal axis of its mounting saidaxis passing through the space occupied by the gunners head when thegimner is seated in said seat.

3. In combination, a swivel support, a gunner's seat suspended from saidsupport, a pivotally mounted gun associated with said seat and means toadjust the gun from side to side relative to said 0 seatupon the axis ofthe pivotal mounting of the gun, said aids being fixed with respect tosaid seat and passing through the head of the seated.

gunner.

4. In an airplane, a-support mounted to swin 35 on a substantiallyvertical axis, a seat suspended from said support to swing about asubstantially horizontal axis, a gun supporting post mounted on saidseat and means to guide said post in a lateral path transversely acrossthe front of. said 0 seat.

5. In an airplane, a support mounted to swing on a substantiallyvertical axis, a seat suspended from said support to swing about asubstantially.

,horizontal axis, a gun support mounted on said 45 seat and means toguide said support in a lateral path transversely'of said seat. 6. Meansfor adjustably supporting fire arms and the like, comprising a seathaving'two degrees of freedom, a support for the fire arms or "50 thelike pivotally mounted on said seat, and

means permitting adjustment of the support about its pivotal mounting inall positions of the seatthe pivotal axis of the support mountingpassing substantially through the normal position.

55 of the operators head.

otally suspended gunners seat, means. tendingto" keep'the seat in anupright position, said means 7. An adjustable gun mount, comprising apivapplying increasing force as the seat is inclined,

6 a gun support mounted on said seat and adapted to swing man are aboutan axis inclined to the vertical said are forming the upper portion of acircle lying in a plane normal to said axis, the inclination of saidaxis increasing as the seat is inclined, and means tending to keep thegun at the. high point of the arc, said means applying increasing forceas the gun is moved from the high point, of its arc. and as the seat isinclined.

8. In combination,' a gun standard, a gun mounted thereon, means toguide said gun in an arcuate path about a horizontal axis and means" toguide said gun in an arcuate 'path aboutan I axis inclined to thevertical and biasing means tending to elevate the gun about the inclinedaxis a um and depress the gun about the horizontal axis.

support rotatably mounted on said seat, said rotatable mounting adaptedto guide said support.

in an arc about an axis inclined to the vertical when the seat is in anupright position, said arc forming the upper portion of a circle lyingin a plane normal to said axis, the inclination of said axis increasingas the seat is backwardly inclined, said means tending to keep the gunat the high point of said are and applying increasing force as the gunis moved from the high point of said are and as the seat is backwardlyinclined. x

10. In a. gimners seat in an airplane cockpit, a bearing supported atthabottbm of said cockpit, a U shaped support carried by said bearing,to pivot about a normally vertical axis, spaced bearings carried bysaid U shaped support, a seat carried by said spaced bearings to swingabout a normally horizontal axis,- apivot carried by said seat, a postsecured at one end to said pivot, a guide rail carried by said seatabove said pivot to limit the movements of the upper end of said post toan are centered on an axis extending from said pivot through the spaceoccupied'by the head of a gunner occupying said seat, and a bracketadapted to pivotally support a gun mounted on the upper end of saidpost.

11. In a gunners seat in an airplane,a bearing having a normallyvertical axis fixed to the structure of said airplane, a U frame carriedby said bearing for complete freedom of rotational movement about anormally vertical axis, a seat supported by said U frame for swingingmovements about a normally horizontal axis, and a gun post pivotallysupported on said seat for rotational movement about both said normallyvertical and said normally horizontal axes and for independent movementtransversely of the front of said seat. I

12. In a gunner's seat in an airplane, a bearing having a normallyvertical axis fixed to the structure of said airplane, a U frame carriedby said bearing for rotation about a normally vertical axis, a seatsupported by said U frame for swinging-movements about a normallyhorizontal axis, a gun post pivotally supported on said seatsforrotational movement about both said normally vertical, and said normallyhorizontal axes andfor independent movement transversely of the frontoiflsaid seat, and a yieldable' tension member resiliently resistingswinging movements of said seat toward a rearwardly inclined position.

-13-. In a gunners seat in an airplane, a bear ing havinga-normallyvertical axis fixed to the structure of said airplane, a.Uframe carried by said bearing for rotation about a normally verticalaxis, a seat supported .by said U frame for swinging movements about anormally horizontal axis, a gun post pivotally supported on said seatfor rotational movement about said normally vertical axisandswingingmovement about'said normally horizontal axis-and for independentmovement transversely ofvthe front of said seat, and a. resilienttension member exerting force increasing with the degreeofinclinationopposed to swinging movements of said seat toward arearwardly inclined position.

14. In, a gunners seat in an airplane, a bearing fixed to the structureof said airplane, a U frame carried by said bearing for rotation about anormally vertical axis, a seat supported by said of said seat, and aresilient tension member secured at one end to'said seat and at theopposite end to said seat support and connected intermediate its lengthto said post, and means for stretching said tension member as said seatis inclined rearwardly to create a force increasing as the degree ofrearward inclination of said seat to urge said seat to its erectposition and said post to a centered position with respect to the frontof said seat.

15. In a gunners seat in an airplane, a U frame having side members anda cross member pivotally supported on said airplane structure forrotation about a normally vertical axis, a

seat swingably mounted on said side members, a support for machine gunsand the like pivotally mounted on said seat for swingable and rotatablemovements therewith and for independent movement laterally of said seat,and a guide rail carried by said seat for guiding the movements of saidsupport relative to said seat.

16. A combined gun mount and gunners seat comprising, a pivotallymounted support, means pivotally suspending said seat from said support,and means adjustably supporting said gun upon said seat including a gunpost, a pivotal connection between said seat and said post, and meansspaced from said pivotal connection and rigid with said seat for guidingand supporting said post.

17. An adjustable mount as set forth in claim 16 in which the axis ofthe pivot passes through the normal position of the seated operator'shead.

18. An adjustable mount,as set forth in claim 16, in which the operatorsseat has two degrees of freedom.

19. A combined gun mount and gunners seat as set forth in claim 16, inwhich the means for guiding and supporting the post comprises an arcuateguide adjacent to the upper end of the post.

JOHN G. LEE.

